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Soon after the formation of Department of Homeland Security, the Martin
Agency of Richmond, Virginia provided pro bono work to create "Ready.gov", a
readiness website. The site and materials were conceived as early as March 2002
but were launched in February of 2003, just before the launch of the Iraq War.
One of the first announcements that garnered widespread public attention to this
campaign was one by Tom Ridge in which he stated that in the case of a chemical
attack, citizens should use duct tape and plastic sheeting to build a homemade
bunker, or "sheltering in place" to protect themselves. As a result, the
sales of duct tape skyrocketed and DHS received criticism that they were being
too alarmist.
On March 12, 2002, the Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS), a
color-coded terrorism risk advisory scale, was created as a Presidential
Directive to provide a "comprehensive and effective means to disseminate
information regarding the risk of terrorist acts to Federal, State, and local
authorities and to the American people." Many procedures at government
facilities are keyed off of the alert level; for example a facility may search
all entering vehicles when the alert is above a certain level. Since January
2003, it has been administered in coordination with the DHS; it has also been
the target of frequent jokes and ridicule on the part of the administration's
detractors about its perceived ineffectiveness. After resigning, Tom Ridge
stated that he didn't always agree with the threat level adjustments pushed by
other government agencies.
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